Consumer Electronics Week with Techlicious

If you are not familiar with Consumer Electronics Week (CE Week), it is the tech world’s cotillion for their newest products. Attendees get the opportunity to see/touch/experience everything before it reaches store shelves. Techlicious generously extended a one-day conference invitation to several bloggers from Boston, DC, Philly and NYC. Transportation was provided by the CE Week sponsors. Julie Meyers Pron, Melissa Angert, Valerie Palmer, Andrea Howard, Robin Elton and I attended from Philadelphia.

Upon arrival, we sat and listened to a panel discussion moderated by Techlicious CEO & Founder, Suzanne Kantra. Bloggers Amy Oztan – www.selfishmom.com, Nancy Friedman – www.hiptohousewife.com and Rebecca Levey – www.beccarama.com answered questions about working with bloggers and best practices when contracting with bloggers. Following the session we had a mini blogging conference where Suzanne gave us some tech tips and showed us some new software and products that we could use to spice up our blogs. Target sponsored a giveaway of an iPad 2, which our very own Robin Elton won!

Following a yummy lunch and discussion sponsored/given by Cohen & Wolfe, Suzanne gave is a tour of her favorite products at the show. Here are a few highlights:

iTwin – A smart connector that allows you to grab and transfer files from one computer to the other without expensive monthly services agreements. Its a safe way to access, edit, download and upload files without limits on storage. Just connect the two ends to any online computer and the data is encrypted during transfer. This means that you can travel anywhere in the globe and access your home or office computer.

Courtesy of Just Precious

Speck – A full line of technology accessories for your iPhone, iPad, Android, GPS, Kindle…you get the drift. One of our personal favorites was the iGuy! Great for when your kids want to play with your iPad.

Photo courtesy of Just Precious

nPower Peg – A device that allows you to generate your own power, OFF the grid. Its a passive kinetic energy charger for your portable electronic devices that works by merely shaking it. You can put it in your purse or backpack and the mere motion will store energy in its internal battery. The potential for this technology is incredible. The reps talked to us about placing larger energy collection devices on ocean waves in an effort to utilize alternative power. Its really an amazing company that is bound to be on the forefront of green energy solutions in the near future.

Courtesy of Just Precious

iLuv – Another brand that manufacture consumer electronics accessories. We fell in love with this portable iPad keyboard!

Courtesy of Just Precious

Overall, it was a great day. There wasn’t enough time to see all of the amazing products at the show. And to think, CE Week is just the smaller, mid-year gathering in comparison to the annual conference in Vegas…it blows your mind!

We are all thankful to Techlicious for the opportunity to attend the event. In a stroke of luck, I stumbled upon some great finds that I plan on highlighting on NBC Philadelphia in August for Back to College, so stay tuned!

* Thanks to Julie Meyers Pron for organizing our group and being the point person for the trip.

**Disclosure: we did receive free transportation and entry into the conference. Gift bags were given out as a thank you, but all opinions were my own.

Karla Trotman is the owner of BellyButtonBoutique.com, an online store for women who are pregnant and uncomfortable. She blogs for her store as well as for her family's electronics engineering and manufacturing firm. A mom of two boys, Karla has no spare time, so there is no use in having fun activities.